Carboy container



VOdi. 30, 1951 v H, R, GARDNER 2,573,428

CARBOY CONTAINER Filed Dec. 2'?. 1948 N V EN TOR @We/f Patented Oct. 30, 1951 CARBOY CONTAINER Harry R. Gardner, Rahway, N. J .,assignor to The Greif Bros. Cooperage Corporation, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application'December 27, 1948, SerialNo. 67,338

.4 Claims.

1 This inventionpertains toa container for carboys of glass or the like in which may Obe/sealed a desired liquid such as an acid. More particularly the present Ycontainer ,is k.designed to .afford a substantial protection tothe enclosed 'tainer as it appears when righted with the enclosed carboy properly .secured therein;

Fig. 2.is a longitudinal section lthrough the container, kshowing its initially inverted position,

vand that of the carboy,'as when v-the latter `has justbeen placed within the former;

Fig. 3 which is a-view similar to Fig. 2 shows i:

the container, with enclosed carboy, 'in upright position, as when assembly Vhas been completed; and

Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2, but with ythe carboy removed from the view.

In the construction shown, I utilize a cylindrical container of plywood or `the like having a 'bodyB which is initially* openA at 'both ends, the meeting edges of thei'bo'dybeing Vjoined as by a n Fitted within Ythe ibody adjacent its strip Hl. lower endis a circular outer stay Il. Thisstay may be secured in place by fastenings l2 such Yas -staples which passitherethrough :and through the container body and on through'a hoop I5 which surrounds'the 'body adjacent its lower end. The' stay and Ahoop` thus assembled 'permanently 'upon the container body at its lower end also 'provide therefor a1desirablereenforcement.

The top edge ofthe stay constitutes .a support whereonmay be rested .a circular bottom head I1 for the container. This also may be conveniently produced from ,plywood and lbe reen- :forced Vtransversely with a cleat I 8 which .is

xed'lysecured in place. A second inner stay 1'@ isalso applied Vto the interior of .the container body .to engage .the top face Vof the bottom head .VL As .by .means of staple Afasteners 20 which traverse the inner stay la, the container body, 'and the outerhoop Al`5,a further l.reenf ,12 forcement is provided for the .container adjacent its-lower end, and also a stop for the bottom head Il such that it is secured immovably in place between the inner and outer stays i9 and Il.

.A top head 23 for the container is also provided. Such a head, which may be produced from plywood `with v.transverse Vreenforcement provided by a Acleat '24, is closely fitted Within the ,container body'close to its top. Inner and outer lstays 2.5 vand "26, respectively, are affixed within .theacontainer on opposite .sides ofthe top head 23-for engagement therewith, the inner'stay being .secured infplaceas-.by staple fasteners 21 and the outer-stay .by fasteners v28, each set of fasteners passing also through the container body .and then on through a reen'forcing hoop 30 Vwhich is tted closely around Ithe .body adjacent its `upper end.

fof the "bracehead for a purpose Awhich *.will presently appear. Extending betweenthe brace head 32 and the bottom head Il, `and conned Vthereby against axial movement, is a-shell S Which constitutes an important feature of this invention. Desirably this shell is produced from plywood,

and-its'meeting edges remain'free, disconnected,

and slightlyspaced (seeFig. 4).

A container-shell assembly, as just described, is vadapted to receive therewithin a carboy C. SuchV a carboy, best shown in Figs. 2 and 3, is usually made of glass or like ymaterial for the retention of acids, chemicals, etc. ."Itsbottom b is flat, its sides s cylindrical although inclining inwardly near Y.the bottom, and near the top its sides are extended inwardly to provide sloping shoulders t which merge with an upwardly extending neck n that joins with a collar .c. A stopper, such as a cork a', is tted into .the open mouth of the carboy to provide a seal for ,the contents thereof. When the `carboyis placed within the container, .both are in inverted posiresponse to gravity when the container is righted.

For partial protection of such a carboy within the container, I utilize at the bottom one or more cushion pads 40 of cork or the like. Desirably three such pads, each in the form of a block, are pre-assembled with the bottom head I1 to which they may be xedly secured as by glue at points equidistantly apart adajacent its periphery (see Figs. 2 and 3). These cushion pads provide full protection for the carboy at its bottom. Assembly of the bottom head Il with the container follows placing of the carboy therewithin and, when done, the container is righted so that the carboy may then rest upon the cushion pads 40 which are carried by the bottom head l1.

The shell S is preferably made of plywood which, with the aid of heat and pressure, is prebent to a substantially cylindrical form. The circumferential extent of the present shell is such that it will substantially surround the cylindrical side walls of the carboy, and'its two free edges which lie in proximate relation will, in commercial practice, either overlap slightly, remain in light butt engagement, or remain slightly apart. This point is not important. It is a'oharacteristic of such a plywood shell that it seldom retains atrue cylindrical contour. When relaxed, it may be flat in one spot, humped in another, and so on, although following a generally curved contour. Furthermore, such a shell, if made of plywood, is endowed with a high degree of resilienc'e, i. e. it may be flexed inwardly or outwardly in response to pressure, but when that pressure is withdrawn, the shell will tend to restore itsef to its former contour. While this might be a disadvantage for certain uses, I find it highly important and advantageous for the present invention as will shortly be made apparent.

The shell, in a substantially relaxed condition, is pre-assembled with the container before the carboy is fitted in place. The two stays i9 and 34 which engage the shell at points near its opposite ends, are of substantial thickness, perhaps a quarter of an inch, so as to support the shell inwardly of the container body and in spaced relation thereto for the entire length of the shell. The body B of the container is relatively close to a true cylindrical form as a result of circular shaping forces that are applied thereto by the top and brace heads 23 and 32, and later by the bottom head as well. As a consequence, the shell S when fitted into place will be constrained to adjust its contour so as to further approach circularity, if its shape be excessively off-circular.

As will be observed clearly from Fig. 2, the cylindrical side walls of the carboy C are, from end to end (except for the inclined portion near its bottom), engaged with the surrounding shell which at every point opposite the carboy is free to expand outwardly against the tension of its own body. In so doing, the shell may flex somewhat into the annular space which intervenes between itself and the surrounding walls of the container body. The tendency of the shell to restore itself to its normal condition, as suggested in Fig. 2, will cause the shell to remain in pressure engagement with the carboy and maintain the same axially centered with respect to the container. I thus provide, in effect, a floating mounting wherein the carboy is sustained. The spring cushion afforded by this mounting extends continuously around the cylindrical side walls of the carboy, and has capacity for flexing radially outwardy in any direction, and against a resistance which is substantially uniform at every point, so that the carboy is protected to the fullest possible extent.

Normally during handling, storage, and shipment, the container is stood on its bottom, as shown in Fig. 3. The bottom of the carboy is then supported upon the cushion pads 40 which may be of any suitable material for this purpose, natural cork being suggested as appropriate and adequate. It is unnecessary that the brace head 32 engage the carboy, for the reason that the frictional engagement which obtains between the carboy and the surrounding shell is Very substantial, and normally sufficient to prevent axial movement of the carboy upwardly within the container.

When the carboy is opened up for use, the stay 2E is removed, thereby freeing the top head 2d so that it may be lifted out of the container. This exposes the stopper at the top of the carboy. Removal of the stopper then follows to permit pouring of the liquid contents into or out of the carboy.

The construction which I have described is one which will meet export requirements in that the upper end of the carboy, including its stopper. is completely enclosed. For domestic purposes, such a complete enclosure is not necessary, and in that event the upper end of the container will terminate just above the stay 33, so that the brace head 32 then serves as a top head for the container.

Plywood drums have definite advantages in the way` of lightness, resiliency and strength, and these factors can be controlled within wide limits by the thickness and number of the plies, and otherwise; the same is true of the inner shell which I employ as a cushion support for thecarboy. For these reasons vthe container of my invent-ion will adequately meet all the usual protecting requirements and tests by an ample margin. And it is further advantageous in that it is relatively inexpensive to construct, it permits a facile assembly of a carboy (or replacement thereof), and the few separate pads which are used may be pre-assembled with the bottom head so as to avoid separate handling.

I claim:

l. A container for a carboy. comprising a cylindrical plywood drum wherein is secured an apertured head of circular form extending transversely thereof at a point remote from the bottom end of the drum, the circular head being in pressure engagement with the drum walls circumferentially to assure circularity thereof, a pair of spaced circular stays affixed to the drum interiorly thereof, one abutting the head on its under side to afford support thereto and the other at a point near the bottom end of the container, a bottom head affixed to the drum in abutting relation to the lower stay and engaging circumferentially with the drum to assure circularity thereof, and a circumferentially continuous resilient plywood shell of generally circular form, tted within the drum to lie inwardly of the two stays and wholly between the two heads therewithin Vfor axial confinement thereby, the meeting edges wardly between the stays into the space between itself and the walls of the cylindrical drum while exerting constant tension upon the carboy walls tending to float the carboy in an axial position within the container.

2. A container for a carboy or the like comprising a cylindrical body, a circular head secured to the bottom end of the body and an apertured head secured therein near its opposite end, a plywood shell of circular form having disconnected edges fitted within the container between the two heads for axial confinement thereby, a pair of stays spaced lengthwise of the container` and secured thereto interiorly thereof and outwardly of the shell to provide spacers therefor, a cushion pad rested on the container bottom and adapted to engage the bottom end of the carboy when fitted therewithin and within the shell, the l' diameter of the shell being such that, when outwardly engaged with the spacer stays, it will inwardly engage the cylindrical walls of the carboy with pressure, and the shell being free to expand outwardly between the stays into the space between itself and the walls of the container body while exerting a constant tension upon the carboy walls tending to iioat the carboy in an axial position within the container.

3. A container for a carboy or the like comprising a cylindrical body, a circular head secured to the bottom end of the body and an apertured head secured therein near its opposite end, a resilient shell of sheet material of irregular circular form tted within the container between the two heads for axial confinement thereby, spacer means spaced lengthwise of the container and secured thereto interiorly thereof and outwardly of the shell to space the latter from the container, the diameter of the shell being such that when outwardly engaged with the spacer means it will inwardly engage the cylindrical wall of the carboy with pressure, the ends of the sheet material of the shell being disconnected and said shell being free to expand outwardly between the spacer means into the space between itself and the walls of the container body in any radial direction while exerting a constant tension upon the carboy walls tending to float the carboy in an axial position within the container, and a cushion pad rested on the container bottom and adapted to engage the bottom end of the carboy when fitted therewithin and within the shell.

4. A container for a carboy or the like comprising a cylindrical body, a bottom head affixed to the body, an apertured head afxed to the body at a point remote from the bottom head, a circumferentially continuous resilient plywood shell of approximately circular shape fitted within the cylindrical body between the two heads for axial confinement thereby, the internal diameter of the shell, when so positioned, being such as to press against the outer cylindrical surface of a carboy when fitted therewithin and to engage therewith substantially continuously both circumferentially and for a substantial portion of its length, spacer means positioned between the shell and the surrounding cylindrical body acting to separate one from the other whereby to provide a space therebetween permitting either the walls of the container or the shell to move therein, one toward the other, without communicating motion therebetween` throughout the area where engagement obtains between the shell and carboy, and cushion means interposed between thc carboy bottom and the bottom head of the container.

HARRY R. GARDNER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 862,424 Verity Aug. 6, 1907 1,170,401 Boley Feb. 1, 1916 1,840,677 Miessler Jan. 12, 1932 1,892,527 Gray Dec. 27, 1932 2,458,737 Salkowitz Jan. 11, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 52,804 Switzerland July 16, 1910 469.238 France May 14, 1914 

